Dear Hill Country Families,

At Hill Country, we’re always praying, planning, and preparing for the future your students deserve. Today, I have some exciting progress to share about our campus expansion and a few other important updates that I hope will bring both clarity and encouragement.

From a long-anticipated milestone with City Reach to a new way for us to gather and stay connected as a school community, I hope what follows gives you a glimpse of the faithful growth and diligent, behind-the-scenes work happening here at HillCo.

You may have noticed fewer cars coming in and out of the former City Reach parking lot. When we purchased the property in October 2023, it included a lease-back agreement with City Reach Church, which allowed them to continue to use the property until October 31, 2025. We are happy to share that they have officially vacated the property and successfully moved to their new location.

With that transition complete, the property is now fully available for our use! This is the perfect time to share a major update regarding our entire campus vision—a vision that is all about maximizing our Kingdom impact for the next generation. Over the past year, our partnership with Hill Country Bible Church (HCBC) has deepened, leading to a truly transformative opportunity: a collaborative effort to maximize the potential of the combined 60-acre, shared campus in North Austin. We believe this collaborative approach, operating from the mindset that “Two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9), will exponentially increase our ability to serve our students and the broader community.

City Reach Transformation and Academic Growth
The immediate focus is the former City Reach property. Since the spring, we have been working with architects and contractors on the combined 60-acre site plan and developing the worship center renovation plan. We hope to begin renovations this winter. This space is planned to provide flexible space for fine arts performances, a dedicated cafeteria, and will be integrated with the phased construction of future academic buildings designed to replace our portables eventually. Our goal is to make this space functional and usable for our students for the 2026-2027 school year!

World-Class Athletics on 60 Acres
This bold, collaborative vision also opens the door to a future where virtually all athletic facilities are right here on campus! Our current drafts show that our combined 60 acres can accommodate home fields for football, baseball, softball, tennis/pickleball courts, and an auxiliary gym. Imagine the gift of having all home games and practices hosted right here, saving our families countless hours of travel across Austin.

Please remember this is a draft and a vision of what is possible, not a final blueprint or construction plan. This exciting, multi-phase project shows us where we can go, guided by the central mission that all of this campus expansion is ultimately about anchoring the next generation in Christ. Stay tuned for more updates as this exciting vision progresses!

Some of you may recall that our board of directors used to host an annual Town Hall. We are resurrecting this idea but reframing it as “State of the School” meetings instead. I will host and lead these gatherings, with the board of directors providing updates on strategic direction and board leadership.

We plan to hold several meetings in January so everyone who wants to attend can. To keep the dialogue healthy and productive, each meeting will be limited to 100 participants.

At these meetings, you will receive information on the following topics:

• Campus expansion progress
• ParentPulse survey results and updates
• Academic leadership update
• Program enhancements update

You will also have the opportunity to ask questions. I hope these meetings will serve to keep all of you better informed and up to date on all things HillCo! Please watch Knightly News in December to RSVP and choose the date that best fits your schedule.

Hill Country Prayer Garden

If you have walked or driven by the MAC this week, you may have noticed construction behind the building. This crew is building a community prayer garden on our campus. The original intent for this garden was born out of a desire to honor former student Caden Billingsley’s legacy by creating a place on campus that invites students, staff, and parents to turn to the Lord in prayer. The design is beautiful, and I look forward to our students and school community using it. We plan to dedicate the prayer garden in December with the senior class. Next spring, we will add a memorial area to honor our former students and unveil it at that time. My hope and prayer is that it serves as a true inspiration to all of us to stop, pray, and seek the Lord.

This is an incredibly exciting season of growth and development for Hill Country Christian School. Thank you for partnering with us as we work diligently to provide the best possible environment for our students to grow in wisdom and in faith

In His service,

Eric DeVries, Head of School